Nipple-holder for nursing-bottles.



PATENTED JAN. 10, 1905.

F. 0. BROOKE. NIPPLE HOLDER FOR NURSING BOTTLES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 9, 1904.

I tion and explanation.

UNITED STATES Patented January 10, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE,

NIPPLE-HOLDER FOR NURSING-BOTTLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. '7 79,582, dated January 10, 1905.

Application filed MayQ, 1904. Serial No. 206,990.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FIRMEN C. BROOKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in N ipple-Holders for Nursing- Bottles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements. in a device to be used on nursing-bottles for the purpose of securely holding the nipple thereon; and it consists in certain peculiarities of the construction, novel arrangement, and operation of the parts thereof, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth and specifically claimed.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a nipple-holder fornursing-bottles which shall be simple and inexpensive in construction, strong, durable, and so made that it is applicable to such bottles of the ordinary construction and of different-sized necks and will securely hold the nipple in place on the neck of the bottle, so that it (the nipple) cannot he accidentally pulled off or removed by the infant, thus preventing the spilling or wasting of the milk or contents of the bottle.

Another object of the invention is to so construct the nipple-holder that the expense of manufacture thereof will be reduced to a minimum and shall be so made that it may be readily placed in position on the bottle so as to firmly hold the nipple in place or easily detached in order to remove the nipple when it is desired to cleanse or refill the bottle.

. Other objects and advantages of the invention will be disclosed in the subjoined descrip- In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my invention pertains to make and use the same, I will noW proceed-to describe it, referring to the accompanying drawings, in Which Figure 1 is a view in elevation of a portion of a nursing-bottle, showing a nipple held in place thereon by means of a nipple-holder embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a central sectional view thereof; and Fig. 3 is a detached perspective view of the holder, show I ing the clamping-arms disconnected or detached.v

Like numerals of reference refer to corres ponding parts throughout the different views of the drawings.

The reference-numeral 5 represents a nurs ing-bottle of the ordinary or any preferred construction which has at the upper end of its neck, on the outersurface thereof, an annular head 6, as usual, over which the open end of the nipple 7 is stretched and fitted, as is clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. The rim or the open end of the nipple 7 is formed With an annular enlargement 8 or reinforced in order to make it more durable and to prevent it tearing when stretched over the mouth of the neck. The nipple-holder comprises a ring 9, which is preferably made of elastic material, such as rubber, and has formed integral therewith clamping arms or extensions 10 and 11, which are united to the ring 9, preferably by means of a connectionl2, which supports the arms 10 and 11 ataslight distance from said ring, as is clearly shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The arm or extension 10 is provided near its free end, on the outer surface thereof, with a button 13, which is of the same material as the arms and ring, which, as before stated, are preferably made of rubber or other elastic material. This button, however, is preferably hardened or formed with less flexibility than the arms, so that it may more readily engage the buttonhole 14 in the free end of the clamping-arm 11, which, together with the arm 10, encircles or embraces the lower portion of the nipple just above the enlargement or reinforcement 8 thereon, as is clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

In using the nipple-holder the ring 9 is placed around the neck 15 of the bottle, after which the nipple? may be stretched over and placed on the upper end of the neck, so that the enlargement 8 of the nipple will be located at a slight distance below the lower portion of the head 6, when the arms 10 and 11 may be placed around the lower portion of the nipple and united by means of the button 13 and hole 14, so as to tightly clasp the nipple below the bead 6 of the bottle and above the enlargement 8 of the nipple, thus holding the latter firmly and securely in position and against accidental displacement. The ring 9 and the arms 10 and 11 of the holder being made of elastic material, it is apparent that the holder is adapted for bottles having different-sized necks and that when the arms are unfastened at their free ends, 'so that the nipple may be removed when desired, the ring 9 will still retain the holder on the bottle, so that it will not be lost or mislaid.

While I prefer to use a nipple with an enlargement or reinforcement on its open end in order that the nipple may be more securely retained in position, yet it is evident that the reinforcement may be omitted from the nipple, when the arms 10 and 11 of the holder will clamp the lower portion of the nipple sufliciently close to the bottle-neck to prevent its accidental removal.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. As an improved article of manufacture, a nipple-holder for nursing-bottles, comprising a ring and elastic clamping arms connected thereto, one of said arms having an opening in its free end and the other having a button on its free end to engage said opening, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a nursing-bottle having an external annular bead on its neck, of a nipple adapted to be placed over the said annular bead, and a nipple-holder comprising a ring encircling the neck of the bottle and clamping-armsto clasp the lower portion of the nipple below the bead on the bottle, said clamping-arms having engaging means at their free ends, substantially as described.

3. The combination With a nursing-bottle, of a nipple adapted to be placed on the free end thereof, a nipple-holder comprising a ring encircling the neck of the bottle and elastic cl amping-arms connected to said ring to clamp the lower portion of the nipple, one of said clamping-arms having near its free end an opening and the other arm having near its free end a button to engage said opening, substantially as described.

FIRLWIEN C. BROOKE.

Witnesses: CHAS. O. TILLMAN, A. GUSTAFSON. 

